A Tale of Two Princes

By: Eric Geron

ISBN: 978 1 335 42592 8

Harlequin (2023)

“A Tale of Two Princes” is a story about finding your place in the world, with a light dusting of fantasy over it. It’s aimed at young people who are finding their feet, and many in that group will enjoy this immensely.

Edward is the Crown Prince of Canada. This is where the fantasy comes in: the idea that Canada has a royal family, an offshoot of the British royal family. This idea is treated very lightly; although there are some clear echoes of real life events, very little about this has been fully worked out. Although mildly annoying for those who like their fantasy worlds well realised, it mostly works because it’s not the point of the story.

Edward is not only the Crown Prince, he’s gay. And those two facts mean he’s so far in the closet that it’s surprising he hasn’t visited Narnia. He can’t see any way of reconciling his duties as Crown Prince with his sexual identity. He’s hardly what you’d call happy, but for now he’s focusing on getting through the Investiture Ceremony which will take place on his 18^th birthday.

In contrast, Billy is a cowboy. He’s also gay, but he’s very out, and most people in his life don’t think twice about it anymore. Mind you, he’s not that happy where he is, either. He dreams of playing the violin professionally, and feels tied down by family expectations that he’ll take over the family ranch, settle down with his boyfriend, and spend his life in his small town. So in the short term, he’s focusing on an exciting trip to New York to audition for Juilliard.

In New York the two come face to face. When it’s revealed that they’re twins, separated at birth, much more is at stake than the royal succession.

Some people are going to find aspects of this novel hard – and no, not the people you think. I’m assuming that anyone who has a problem with gay or gender fluid people is not even going to attempt this. The people who’ll have the most trouble are those who like either a good helping of reality or a completely worked out fantasy world.

For me, I got tangled up early with concern for Billy’s mother. She’s just been told that her son is dead, and the son she thought was hers is actually someone elses’, and they’re going to just help themselves to him, thank you very much. I couldn’t believe how little concern there was for her feelings or what she’d be going through.

Now, I recognise that this is missing the point of the novel. It’s about Billy and Edward, not their parents. And the light sheen of fantasy across the novel means there are things you’re not supposed to think about in too much detail. But I couldn’t look away from this emotive issue, and it made some parts of the novel uncomfortable for me.

Similarly, if you read a lot of fantasy and are used to fully realised worlds, you’ll probably find parts of this infuriating. I kept thinking “but surely they’d…” only to pull myself up and remind myself that this isn’t supposed to be particularly realistic. I was, I think, just expecting a bit too much from the novel in this regard. It’s not what Geron was trying or intending to achieve.

What he has written is a novel about young people finding their place in the world. A large part of this is their sexual and gender identity, but it’s also about family, personal ambitions, and responsibilities imposed on them by others. And in this regard, he’s written something entertaining, thoughtful and empathetic.

Both boys are strong characters, and it’s easy to understand the forces that push and pull them. Most young readers will empathise with this, and with the fact that they have somewhat unformed ambitions, rather than focused drives. Although we see few of their friends, those we do are also fully formed characters.

There is a little bit of many things in this novel: a touch of fantasy, a little romance, exploration of family relationships, consideration of sexual identity, and identity more broadly. Although none is really explored in any depth, the result is a light but encouraging novel with a hopeful theme around the benefits of being yourself.

As I said, some readers may find themselves focused on side issues and struggling to fully enjoy the novel for what it is. However, I think that readers who can put those issues aside will enjoy this novel. Geron knows he’s not being completely original, but he brings a cheerful verve to the reimagined plot that makes it easy reading.

The novel is best suited to those experiencing a similar struggle to Edward and Billy: not necessarily with their sexuality, but more broadly with who they want to be and how it fits with the expectations of those around them. These readers will find this empathetic and fun.